The death penalty on the ballot : American democracy and the fate of capital punishment / Austin Sarat ; with John Malague and Sarah Wishloff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sarat, Austin, author.

Malague, John, author.

Wishloff, Sarah, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Capital punishment--United States.

Capital punishment.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 194 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

Investigating the attitudes about capital punishment in contemporary America, this book poses the question: can ending the death penalty be done democratically? How is it that a liberal democracy like the United States shares the distinction of being a leading proponent of the death penalty with some of the world's most repressive regimes? Reporting on the first study of initiative and referendum processes used to decide the fate of the death penalty in the United States, this book explains how these processes have played an important, but generally neglected, role in the recent history of America's death penalty. While numerous scholars have argued that the death penalty is incompatible with democracy and that it cannot be reconciled with democracy's underlying commitment to respect the equal dignity of all, Professor Austin Sarat offers the first study of what happens when the public gets to decide on the fate of capital punishment.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: when the death penalty goes public; 2. Retention, abolition, and restoration in the early days of the death penalty referendum process; 3. The people versus their representatives: going to the polls to support capital punishment; 4. Targeting the courts; 5. A tool for abolition?; 6. Conclusion: democracy and the fate of capital punishment.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 26 Mar 2019).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781108699617

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.